31–40 of 69 posts
Well, I wanted to see this for years. Not like I'm satisfied though, what's happening there is an unimaginable crime.
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases...
It's a symbolic thing. > It is extremely rare for the U.S. to sanction a sitting world leader, and the Kremlin had previously said it would consider sanctions on Putin himself to be a de facto severing of relations between the U.S. and Russia. https://www.axios.com/putin-russia-ukraine-sanctions-82883e8...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No since all of Russia can be declared his.... he could lose access to fiat USD/EUROs but his assets are good as gold: Gazprom,Rosneft etc
Yes but if the whole country goes through enough unnecesary hardship (Russians have a tough life) and his manupulative PR apparatus stops functioning he could start fearing for his life. Any of his thugs he’s surrounded by could at some point initiate a mutiny and eventually after failed attempts it could end his reign. Putin is bluffing big time too, he knows it. At the same time he achieved so much power and wealth…
Sanctioning the wealthiest person on the planet…
Wealthier than the Queen of England? Wealthier than the Saudi Royal Family? Wealth stops making sense for heads of state because it's wrapped up in politics and tradition. Vladimir can't come to Austin Texas on a whim and buy himself a mess of grouper and bourbon. I can. I'm here now. I traveled here from Toronto on a whim. Is he is wealthier than I am? The answer is still obviously yes, but it starts to get fuzzy vs…
Does this really do anything? I read a decently insightful article in the Economist yesterday, claiming Putin's inner circle doesn't have anything to lose, as they have all already been sanctioned by the Treasury: https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/02/19/alexander... .
Sanctioning the wealthiest person on the planet…
Wealthier than the Queen of England? Wealthier than the Saudi Royal Family? Wealth stops making sense for heads of state because it's wrapped up in politics and tradition. Vladimir can't come to Austin Texas on a whim and buy himself a mess of grouper and bourbon. I can. I'm here now. I traveled here from Toronto on a whim. Is he is wealthier than I am? The answer is still obviously yes, but it starts to get fuzzy vs…
He's not free as of a few days ago, but he's vastly more wealthy.
It's unknown how rich Vladimir Putin is exactly. It's suspected he may be the richest person on Earth with a net worth in excess of $200 billion however. Sanctions against Russia are completely ineffective because the US and the EU are unwilling to include things that would actually hurt Russia, namely access to the financial system (ie SWIFT), energy exports (because Germany in particular is dependent on Russian nat…
You undermine your own argument. Ukraine's admission was never going to happen anyway, and everyone knows it. Putin also knows it. So that isn't why he is invading.
Arguments about NATO membership or repressed Russian speaking minorities and anything else (you get different justifications for the war depending on where you are in the world...) are fig leafs to exploit people's existing opinions of particular parties (in your case, about the US throwing its weight around).
The reality is far simpler: Putin wants the Ukraine personally. His own private reasons are irrelevant. He wants it. And he has the will and capability to take it. And so he is doing so.
I'm going to pick one one part of your statement in particular:
> US and the EU should've realized the only way to defuse this situation was to negotiate
Putin wants Ukraine. Negotiation of any kind was never going to prevent this invasion, unless the concession surrendering without a fight and having Putin install a government of its choice.
Roughly since 2008 (Georgian war), Russia has been actively cutting many economic ties that could have been used as a point of leverage. They have a knock-off debit card system [0], dedicated Internet censorship agency [1], and have been expelling Western civic organizations and trying to ban various European goods (e.g. french cheese).
This absolutely does reduce the life quality of an average Russian, but it is done in a slow controlled way, and spun the right way with massive propaganda, so people don't call out bullshit. And the West has less and less leverage over Russia with each step like this.
There is an unexploited Achilles heel though - Russian elites commonly send their spouses and children to live in the West, because it provides a safe haven against the internal Russian power struggle. Forcing those to return back to Russia would very quickly change incentives on many levels, but I cannot envision the West doing it. Not when it has become the safe harbor for dirty money made in poorer countries. Otherwise a random bullshit job in the First World wouldn't pay >100x the rate of the guy how assembles iPhones somewhere in the "growing economies".
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Service_for_Supervisio...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No since all of Russia can be declared his.... he could lose access to fiat USD/EUROs but his assets are good as gold: Gazprom,Rosneft etc
Yes but if the whole country goes through enough unnecesary hardship (Russians have a tough life) and his manupulative PR apparatus stops functioning he could start fearing for his life. Any of his thugs he’s surrounded by could at some point initiate a mutiny and eventually after failed attempts it could end his reign. Putin is bluffing big time too, he knows it. At the same time he achieved so much power and wealth…
KJU has served as a role model for Putin and Xi....Kim Jong Il mastered brinksmanship with US.
Push too much you risk getting spanked. Push the right amount...you just might win protection racket from states
When democracies have too much to lose they will surely deal....is what Putin believes and he isn't wrong.
The West was more than happy to do business with the CCP knowing its risks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes but if the whole country goes through enough unnecesary hardship (Russians have a tough life) and his manupulative PR apparatus stops functioning he could start fearing for his life. Any of his thugs he’s surrounded by could at some point initiate a mutiny and eventually after failed attempts it could end his reign. Putin is bluffing big time too, he knows it. At the same time he achieved so much power and wealth…
If I’d have been talked to the way the spy chief was by Putin the other day I would definitely consider that my own personal safety was at risk.